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Table 2 Summary of regions’ implemented CE approaches

From: Searching for new community engagement approaches in the Netherlands: a realist qualitative study

Region A contextual factors:

Rural area including two municipalities which receive funding & support for addressing (health) inequalities, 106,500 residents

Consultation/Communication level

Participation level

• Region’s Public Health organisation, commissioned by a local municipality, conducted focus groups and informal dinner events with residents discussing their experiences of living in the area (municipality-wide & initiated by municipality)

• ‘Living rooms’ across the region set up to enable organisations and residents to discuss and address urgent healthcare issues together (region-wide & initiated by health and business consultancies)

Online Platform enabled all residents and professionals within the region to share and discuss ideas to improve the region’s healthcare system. Because the Platform was resource intensive, it has gone off line (region-wide & initiated by region’s joined governance board)

Region B contextual factors:

Mixed rural & urban area including two municipalities which receive funding & support for addressing (health) inequalities, 270,000 residents

Consultation/Communication level

Participation level

 

• ‘WeHelp’ online platform enabling residents to ask for and provide each other with informal help, e.g. mowing each other’s lawn, social visits (region-wide & initiated by citizens)

• Local resident and the local PPI organisation were members of health and care system’s joined governance board (region-wide & initiated by joined governance board)

Region C contextual factors:

Rural area including one municipality, 27,500 residents

Consultation/Communication level

Participation level

Municipality professionals establishing closer relationships with residents, local sports clubs, and village councils in order to promote and improve CE (municipality-wide & initiated by municipality)

Municipality engaging schools, parents and students in developing municipality’s youth policy (municipality-wide & initiated by municipality)

Region D contextual factors:

Rural area including eight municipalities, 110,000 residents

Consultation/Communication level

Participation level

• Conducted patient satisfaction surveys for general practices (GPs) as part of a new quality improvement system whereby practices would be monitored against the steps being undertaken to improve areas highlighted in the survey (making GPs more accountable to patients) (region-wide & initiated by primary care group)

• Community-led initiative kicked-off with volunteers going door-to-door with a ‘village diary’ asking residents to write something about their village, e.g. what they liked about the village, what amenities were missing. The diary informed initiative’s priorities (community-wide & initiated by citizens)

• Health promotion activities (region-wide & initiated by network of health and care professionals)

• PPI organisation held workshops for municipality and citizen-led initiatives to help them improve their relationship and collaboration (municipality-wide & initiated by PPI organisation)

• Primary care group’s client council (organisation-wide & initiated by primary care group)

• Initiative was set up when village’s only GP retired. The initiative set up a multi-disciplinary medical centre, a free library, a shared neighbourhood-allotment, and organised social activities (community-wide & initiated by citizens)

• Resident village support worker maintained close links with the community and ensured residents’ health and care needs were addressed (whenever possible by residents themselves and otherwise, by the municipality) (community-wide & initiated by citizens)

Region E contextual factors:

Rural area including three municipalities, 120,000 residents

Consultation/Communication level

Participation level

• ‘Self-care for me’ website enabled local residents to score their own health. Local municipalities were hoping to get local businesses involved to set up ‘fun challenges’ improving residents’ health (region-wide & initiated by municipalities).

• Annual policyholder health promoting events and workshops (region-wide & initiated by joined governance board & policyholders)

• To improve children’s health, local municipalities were establishing closer relationships with community-led initiatives, sports clubs (region-wide & initiated by municipality)

The biggest insurance companies, local municipalities, and health and care providers had set up Policyholder Cooperative to ensure policyholders could have a say in which services should be included within the insurance package and to help shape the local healthcare system. Five policyholders represented the Cooperative (region-wide & initiated by joined governance board).

Region F contextual factors

Suburban area including one municipality, 41,000 residents

Consultation/Communication level

Participation level

Health promotion workshops and apps (municipality-wide & initiated by citizens)

The initiative designed and implemented health-promotion projects, activities and workshops (e.g. implementing benches along walking paths) (municipality-wide & initiated by citizens)